The present invention relates generally to a process for manipulating a continuous web of material, such as paper, film, fabric or the like, between two processing devices, such as printers, folders, cutters, or combinations of such devices. It is more particularly directed to changing the direction of web travel, changing the orientation or xe2x80x98flipxe2x80x99 (which side faces up) of the web, or both to provide proper alignment and orientation from one device into the other.
Present day print shops employ several web processing devices in numerous combinations so as to provide custom print services over a wide variety of specifications or print jobs. The paper or other web material is typically provided on a roll that is too large and cumbersome for manual handling by a single person. Any such print job may entail using equipment such as, but not limited to web unwind and rewind machines, printers, winders, folders, cutters, etc. In order to achieve the most efficient process for a particular print job, the web must be routed from one piece of equipment to another in a continuous process line. Floor space limitations and electrical connections typically limit moving various devices into alignment, the resulting need being for the manipulation of web material between processing devices that typically remain in fixed positions relative to each other. Turnbars and rollers date to the earliest days of industrial printing to alleviate this problem. Early developments were predicated on a fixed printing need at regular intervals, such as for newspapers and magazines. There, the printing process line remained constant despite changes in text and graphics. However as the capability grows for modest sized print shops to handle numerous types of print jobs, and many processing devices exhibit more versatility, the need has arisen for adaptable methods to manipulate web material between processing devices. In the past, either a plurality of specialized turnbar assemblies needed to be retained for each combination of equipment anticipated, or a print job could not be completed in a single process and a batch process became necessary. An example of a batch process is where a print job was partially printed on a web that was then wound on a rewind roll. The rewound roll was then moved into alignment with the next processing device, and so on. As compared to a continuous process line, a batch process is time consuming, labor intensive, requires numerous rewind machines, and subjects the paper web to greater risk of tears and misalignment. One system that alleviates this problem for certain pre-positioned machinery is shown in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,707, herein incorporated by reference. That patent is tailored to two processing devices whose control panels face each other, referred to as an xe2x80x9cH-1xe2x80x9d setup. The present invention seeks to overcome this particular positional limitation of machinery, simplifying processing when machinery is arranged either in an xe2x80x9cH-1xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cH-2xe2x80x9d or an xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d configuration. The xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d configuration is the most efficient use of floor space for modest sized print shops having numerous processing devices. In the xe2x80x9cH-1xe2x80x9d setup, control panels of parallel machines, such as printers, face each other (and hence the printers output in different directions from each other). The xe2x80x9cH-2xe2x80x9d setup provides a different arrangement, where control panels on parallel machines each face the same direction (and the printers both output in the same direction). There are also a variety of shops in which devices are set up in an xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d configuration; wherein a paper web passing from one machine must be redirected 90xc2x0 to properly align with another machine.
Many common print jobs are executed by passing a web between two printers. In one such job requiring printing on two sides of the paperweb, a first printer prints on one side of the web and a second printer prints on the other side. Another such job requires printing on one side only, but the first printer executes only a portion of the print (such as black and white text) and the second printer executes the remaining portion of the print (such as color highlights). This technique optimizes speed in certain print jobs since color generally prints slower than black and white but is often less pervasive on a page.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method and a sufficiently adaptable assembly for manipulating web material between processing devices so that the web will be either flipped (for two sided printing) or not (for one sided printing). A further object is to provide such a method and device that is adaptable to typical orientations of machinery, such as the xe2x80x9cH-1xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cH-2xe2x80x9d, or xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d setups. Such a method and assembly would overcome some of the obstacles outlined above that prevent modest sized print shops from realizing the full capability of their existing processing devices. An adaptable web control matrix may be made to perform similar such functions and is described in co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/764,930, also hereby incorporated by reference.
In accordance with the present invention, a preferred method is disclosed whereby a moveable turnbar is positioned in either a first flip position or a second non-flip position, and a web is drawn from a first processing device along a first direction to pass about the turnbar. The turnbar in both the first and second positions is angled relative to this first direction. After being drawn about the turnbar, the web is then drawn about a roller if and only if the turnbar is in the second position. If the turnbar is in the first position, the roller step is omitted. Finally, the web is drawn from the turnbar or roller, as appropriate, toward a second processing device along a second direction, wherein the second direction is also angled relative to both positions of the turnbar. A longitudinal axis of the roller is substantially perpendicular to the second direction. An external tensive force, typically imposed by the second processing device draws the web.
An alternative method is also disclosed similar to that above except wherein the web is drawn first over the roller if and only if the turnbar is in the second position, and subsequently is drawn about the turnbar. If the turnbar is in the first position, the roller step is omitted as above. The longitudinal axis of the roller in this alternative method is substantially parallel to the second direction. This alternative method reflects the preferred method but wherein the web travels in the reverse direction.
The invention also comprises an assembly to manipulate web material between two processing devices, and includes a turnbar defining a longitudinal axis that is angled relative to both an input direction and an output direction for a web passing into and out of the assembly. The turnbar is moveable between a second position wherein the turnbar axis bisects an angle defined by the input and output sides, and a first position wherein the turnbar axis is substantially perpendicular to that of the second position. The assembly also includes an idler roller defining a longitudinal axis oriented substantially parallel to or perpendicular to the output direction, depending upon whether the paper web is drawn about the turnbar or the roller first. Details of the different idler roller orientations follow below.
In a particular embodiment of the invention, the turnbar is positioned in either the first or second position by distinct sets of mounting brackets, the turnbar being manually moved between the brackets. In another embodiment, the turnbar remains on a single set of mounting brackets, but the brackets and the turnbar rotate on a platform that rests in detents or locks that define either of the two positions. The idler roller is fixed relative to the input and output directions of a web passing through the turnbar/roller assembly.